Syria And Israel Trade Gunfire In Golan

Israel defence Forces | FlickrSyrian forces fired upon and at the very least damaged an Israeli vehicle in the Golan heights, reports the Associated Press.

Syria claimed to have destroyed a vehicles, where Israel claimed the vehicle was only damaged and that the fracas was minor in nature.

As the AP notes, sporadic fire from Syria has often hit Golan, but this time it seems the Syrians openly targeted an Israeli patrol:

Tuesday’s incident, however, marked the first time that the Syrian army has acknowledged firing at Israeli troops across the frontier, and appeared to be an attempt by President Bashar Assad’s regime to project toughness following three Israeli airstrikes near Damascus this year.

Concurrent with a few high-visibility bombing Israeli bombing runs in Syria, Bashar Al Assad launched his own — some would say succesful — assaults into rebel-held territory in Syria. He then held a presser to announce that the west would have to “deal with” a regime victory.